Academic

We need to prepare students for their future, not our past.
Daniel Pink, A Whole New Mind

We strive, through our academic programmes and facilities, to form an eco-system that nurtures a growth mindset, a sense of curiosity and wonderment, and an awareness of the privilege of being a learner.

We view learning is a process of creative interaction with the world and with others that must include cooperative, dynamic activity.  Not only do our learning environments inspire the imagination, the tasks we set for students aim to develop good habits of mind, critical thinking skills, and cooperative learning competencies.

We are committed to evolving the way in which our students learn through the development of facilities such as our James Joyce Library and Co-Operative Learning Centre that have changed the way our boys learn by inspiring and facilitating innovative learning.  The planned re-development of our Third Line study in 2018 for boys in our two youngest year groups will transform how these students approach learning by focusing on the individual’s key strengths –  igniting a true excitement and curiosity for learning.

The Irish Education system does differ from that of the UK and the main milestones are outlined below:

Junior Cycle:

1st Year: Entry to 1^st Year can be from age 11 to 13 depending on the circumstances of the child and their readiness to join our boarding school community.

2^nd Year: Middle year of the Junior Cycle   Students are studying a range of traditional subjects and short courses such as Coding, Mandarin Chinese and Performance Arts.

3^rd Year: The final year of the Junior Cycle with a state exam at the end of the year in June where students are examined in approximately 9 subjects

4^th Year: Also known as Transition Year, this rich and varied year focuses on personal growth and explore opportunities for the Leaving Certificate subjects and third level studies.

Senior Cycle

5^th Year: The first year of the Senior Cycle and study towards the Leaving Certificate(A Level/IB equivalent) begins.

6^th Year: Final year of the Leaving Certificate where students take state exams in minimum of 6  subjects and most will take 7 subjects. The range of subjects allows students to retain a broad range of options for entry to Third Level education.

The Leaving Certificate

A key strength of the Leaving Certificate is it broad and balanced curriculum where students study core subjects (English, Maths and a European language)  and a wide range of electives from the Sciences, Business and the Humanities.  Study of the Irish language is compulsory on for those students who have attended primary schools in Ireland.

Clongowes graduates go on to universities in the UK, Ireland, the USA and Europe with their Leaving Certificate qualification with the excellent in-house guidance of our Guidance Counsellor.

Results

Our academic standards are high with most recent Leaving Certificate results shown below:

Approach to Teaching and Learning

Our aim is to form an eco-system that nurtures a growth mindset, a sense of curiosity and an awareness of the privilege of being a learner.

• Learning is a process of creative interaction with the world and with others that must include cooperative, dynamic activity.
• Our learning environments inspire the imagination, the tasks we set for students aim to develop good habits of mind, critical thinking skills, and cooperative learning competencies.
• We are committed to evolving the way in which our students learn through the development of facilities such as our James Joyce Library and Co-Operative Learning Centre that have changed the way our boys learn by inspiring and facilitating innovative learning.

The re-development of our study area for 1^st and 2^nd Year students began in 2018 for boys and will transform how these students approach learning by focusing on the individual’s key strengths –  igniting a true excitement and curiosity for learning.